ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
United KingdomWhat parts of English culture will you/do you miss?

Milky Ways? In the States they are vastly inferior. It's barely even a Milky Way. I forget what the chocolate bars are that are actually like Milky Ways, but the Milky Ways I've eaten there are more like Mars bars. Not even light or fluffy at all.

 

Oh I didn't even think about crumpets. Of course, the quintessential British breakfast food - I can't get along in my own country without them being Warburton's and I can't imagine what the American variant is like. Good job I like pancakes I guess...

 

Pooky - Marmite is great! wink.png

 

 

This made me laugh.

 

Milky Ways in America ARE Mars Bars

 

3 Musketeers are the equivalent to Milky Ways.

 

I remember bringing some back to mess with my little brother.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-06 10:28:00
United KingdomWhat parts of English culture will you/do you miss?

Anyone else miss Marksies? I also miss real butchers and bakerys (especially sausage rolls)

 

Marksies ready meals are on a different planet sometimes.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-05 17:29:00
United KingdomWhat parts of English culture will you/do you miss?

I am going to miss not having to tip. I am a scrooge and hate tipping, but my fiancee makes me tip, because her ma is waitress lol.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-03 14:20:00
United Kingdommedical issues and K 1 visa

Thank you so much.....does calm my nerves some smile.png  So the visa application wouldn't have even gotten to the interview stage if the Knightsbridge docs wouldn't have given a clean bill of health? Is that correct? thanks so much.( I have spent hours upon hours reading this website since the beginning of the journey...it is wonderful to have all this info in one location)

 

Yeah, the way I see the whole interview thing is as if you are already conditionally approved. You just have to now give in the required documents, proving the finances are in order, and you are who you are, and answer a few very easy questions. Just think of it as a final check. Just make sure you are prepared, and everything becomes much easier. I worked myself into a frenzy thinking about the interview, when after all was said and done, it was the easiest part.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 14:31:00
United Kingdommedical issues and K 1 visa

The Knightsbridge people would have called you if your medical issues were going to intervene with your visa eligibility. Yes on the email, although you still have plenty of time.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 11:04:00
United KingdomUS size passport photos

Thanks. The local shop here does not have a machine they do it on a camera and print them off which is my worry. I will get them done today at the shop and on monday from a machine just to be safe.

 

Well wait until they say the picture is no good before you print them on Monday. They take your photos at the first window. And there is a camera machine and 30 minutes between windows to get them done if absolutely necessary. Seriously worrying too much about some pictures which they scan and crop anyway.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 11:21:00
United KingdomUS size passport photos

They have a booth inside. But it is the same booth you get at any supermarket and victoria station. Meaning the likeliness of it working will always be questionable. Just get photos done in a machine beforehand.

 

Mine were not the right size (bloody chemist) but he cut them down and scanned them. If you are friendly you will be ok if they arent exactly right. Bring some pictures, seriously. You are seriously asking for a nightmare to happen.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 06:42:00
United KingdomInterview in a week but haven't received Packet 4

 

Thanks! What is MRV receipt? Is that the receipt for paying for the visa?

 

Yes. 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-05 07:46:00
United KingdomInterview in a week but haven't received Packet 4

You should get that email before your interview. Print it off, and explain to the girls at security. It shouldn't be an issue. Just make sure you have your MRV receipt, and DS160

 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-05 07:33:00
United KingdomInterview date - Anyone received theirs recently?

I havent received my letter, and my results were actually received on the 28th, but sent on the 27th. 


And I called the NVC number, option 3. They are happy to help, just be persistent.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-04 19:09:00
United KingdomInterview date - Anyone received theirs recently?

Literally just checked. 

 

My medical was on the 15th, had some complications, Embassy received my results on the 27th, Interview Scheduled 28th of Feb at 8am. If you follow the embassy on twitter, they seem to say when they are processing times. Almost like they do them in batches every couple of weeks. I must have been on the last ones before they restarted :)


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-04 16:09:00
United KingdomInterview date - Anyone received theirs recently?

You had your medical arrive on the 28th. It can take up to four weeks. Don't stress yourself over you have no control over. You are pretty close to the finish line, don't give up because the lactic acid is beginning to kick in.

 

srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-04 15:43:00
United KingdomWatching 6 Nations Rugby in US

 

I advise against the use of DirecTV seeing as they're gits who cut the Weather Channel (one of the most useful channels ever especially if living in a storm/tornado area) off without warning, and then charge you massive cancellation fees for wanting to move elsewhere.

 

If it's being broadcast live on one of the terrestrial channels (BBC1, BBC2, ITV, C4) you can consider watching it online and live using Hulu, an addon for browsers which pretty much lets you watch anything from any corner of the world.

 

To be clear, you meant Hola right? Hulu is an ad-laden netflix.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 11:23:00
United KingdomWatching 6 Nations Rugby in US

Vipbox or cricfreetv. Google them and both should be as good as your gonna get if your not paying for it.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-08 11:18:00
United KingdomFlying a dog in cargo with British Airways from UK to US

srvman?.we are in West Glacier right by the entrance to Glacier National Park.  We own a lodge and cabins here - feel free to visit anytime!

 

 

We may take you up on that offer one day. Love Glacier, so beautiful.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-20 13:41:00
United KingdomFlying a dog in cargo with British Airways from UK to US

Hi there,

 

I just flew my 2 yr old lab so I understand the issues you are running into.  I could not find a US carrier who would transport him for less than £1100 using a pet export service so in the end I flew Air Transat (Gatwick to Calgary).  He flew as excess baggage for less than £200.

 

We are in Montana only a few hours drive from Calgary so it was relatively easy for us to pick this route - not sure if its something you are able to do!

 

Good luck!

 

 

Off Topic.

 

Montana? Where abouts? You are the first person I have ever seen in Montana round here. We are in Great Falls.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-19 13:25:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Picked up passport today :) along with a huge white envelope.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-07 09:50:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Update: @ 3pm I got the email.

 

I am guessing the 1pm thing was either a coincedence, or they are getting prepared for Daylight savings, or it might be because I am in Northern Ireland.

 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-06 10:12:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

In terms of my timeline, it looks like they may be sending out emails a week to the date. Still no email, a little annoying since, I didn't have a public holiday during my processing. But hey, what can ya do.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-06 08:18:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

are you k1 or IR 1?

 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-05 10:58:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Status changed to Issued on 4th of March, had interview on 28th of Feb. So hopefully everything is going along at the pace it is supposed to.

 

I was asleep until 12, because I had a pretty heavy wine and movie night last night :) So I have no idea when this changed haha.

 

Btw, Dallas Buyers Club is a great movie. McConaghey deserved an Oscar. Not sure about Leto though.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-04 07:19:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

You should remember that the previous posters interview and passport delivery was processed in the middle of an American Public Holiday. But quick is good :)

 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-03 13:43:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Just to help others with their timeline.

 

Had interview on Friday 28th Feb. Case updated on 3rd March. Still saying ready. Will post updates for future viewers. 

 

 


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-03-03 06:08:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

 

I had no idea you were Irish, I'm actually more Irish than British, my family comes from Westmeath smile.png and you are SO right about the connection times, I've been on ones with 2 hour connections and i've literally had to run through the airport and I got there just as they started boarding at the gate, they don't seem to understand how long it takes to get through customs

 

Northern Irish actually, but no big deal, I have a UK and Irish passport.

 

I tend to just use the Irish passport for getting ID'd in the bar. Get so many free drinks :)

 

I wish I could use the Dublin embassy, and medical. One of those sill technicalities.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-22 09:18:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Fortunately, I am flying from Dublin, it is the cheapest, and only an extra 30 minute drive than it would be to fly from Belfast.

 

They also have pre-clearance smile.png  So I should be able to make my first connection at least.

 

United have a habit of offering unrealistic connection times, but I am yet to miss one. 

 

Although, a 1 hour 20 minute connection, followed by a 44 minute connection may be pushing it....

 

Don't really care, flight cost me airmiles plus 30 quid.

 

 

 


Edited by srvman, 22 February 2014 - 08:46 AM.

srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-22 08:44:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

 

No worries, I got my ticket, I'm actually going Birmingham > Newark and my layover time is 5hours so that's PERFECT and I won't be worrying about missing my connection to Dallas 

 

Did you even have to give your passport details? I booked with United and I still haven't been asked for my passport stuff.

 

Best of luck with flights. See you on the AOS side hopefully :)


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-22 08:25:00
United KingdomCEAC Status "Case Created" Date changed?

Same here sad.png
Called Delta to ask about change fees just in case. 100 quid plus any difference in fare price. I can change my flight but I've just got to give at least 2 hours notice. I know I probably seem super pessimistic but I'm just thinking of the worst case scenario ^^' the lady on the phone was very understanding and told me good luck and hopes we receive it in time.

The guy at the Ipswich DX place is really nice and said he has no problem with me checking back. I have a feeling we are going to get our email with the tracking number tomorrow, and get it by Saturday.

I spoke to him about the delivery process and he told me they collect from the embassy at the end of the working day, and then they take them to Northampton and then from there they get distributed to the other cities by the morning. He wasn't 100% sure but he said he thinks the embassy usually sends out the email around midday, saying they've handed the visa over to DX. So by about 3-4pm they have the list of everything they picked up. So when you get the tracking email, it usually means the next morning it will be available for pick up/be delivered.

He was extremely nice and said good luck and he hopes to have good news for us over the weekend. smile.png he also said sometimes they make mistakes and they might have just missed a name off and they might get it. If they do, he will let me know as soon as he sees it! Very nice customer service from both DX and Delta tongue.png






 

I have looked at probably 40 timelines from the past 3 months. You will be fine. Chill out. You still have Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday. Go drink some red wine, and pack yer bags. From memory you are flying on the 26th... You basically have 4 full days to get a package from a courier service from something that will be sent off today or tomorrow, which is plenty of time.

 

As they said, you have until 2 hours before your flight, I would wait until the night before. The price really doesn't change as much as you think.


srvmanMaleUnited Kingdom2014-02-20 13:35:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)Name Change (Germany)

Anytime :-)


NadeshdaFemaleGermany2014-05-29 13:34:00
Europe & Eurasia (except the UK and Russia)Name Change (Germany)

Hey I kinda have the same problem. We got married in vegas so i got the marriage certificate apostilled there and went to courthous/ register office to find out what I have to do to get my marriage to be accepted here and maybe change my last name to my husband's. And I got told its easier to change my name in states by going to a german embassy that is close and bring certified copies of documents, usually the ones I need to get married in germany - the registrar said and printed me some pages with all the german embassys in the us. You can go ask at the courthous/ register office and they ll help you what documents you need and everything.


NadeshdaFemaleGermany2014-05-29 03:01:00
USCIS Service CentersAre Local Offices Still Taking I-130's?

OK, so I don't need to worry about where I move? That's a relief. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-10-07 13:19:00
USCIS Service CentersAre Local Offices Still Taking I-130's?

I am about to file an I-130 for my wife, but I am also about to move. I live in the DMC (DC-Maryland-Virginia area) and of the two local offices I could get, Baltimore and DC, Baltimore seems faster. I am thus trying to stay in Maryland and not move to DC or Virginia. I do know, though, that the USCIS recently opened up a new office in Arkansas. So my question is, are new I-130's still going to the local offices or are they all going to Overland Park? If the latter is true, then I should be able to move anywhere I want to. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-10-07 12:15:00
USCIS Service CentersNational Benefits Center– American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) Meeting May 10, 2013

There is no such special information about I-130 application except

 

Then NBC ships the I-130s to the appropriate USCIS Field Office bi-weekly based on jurisdiction (petitioner ZIP code).

 

But I thought the NBC at Overland park was supposed to handle this?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-10-25 15:05:00
USCIS Service CentersVermont Service Center

Looks like we have another 4-week NOA2 from VSC. Sorry to everyone else who's not there, looks like things have not changed a lick at the USCIS when it comes to playing games with peoples petitions to cook the numbers. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-11-24 17:57:00
USCIS Service CentersVermont Service Center

Processing time for standalone I-130s is currently around a year.

 

That's the official BS the tier 2's tell you to get you off the phone, but we know here at VJ March and even April cases are getting approved. Does anyone have any real data?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-11-17 23:34:00
USCIS Service CentersVermont Service Center

In my NOA1 email they said my petition was being sent to the VSC. I thought this would happen. I have heard they are the slowest :/. Is that true? Also, does anyone know how fast they are finishing stand-alone I-130's? I know on the website they have the latest date for I-130 completion, 22 October 2012. Does that mean anything?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-11-17 23:06:00
USCIS Service CentersSeptember 2013 I-130 Immediate Relative Processing Data

Really? I don't think we're going to see that there was any semi-decent amount of movement until mid-November. Shuffling papers does not count as progress. tongue.png

 

VJ is a statistically insufficient sample of I-130 filers, if we are seeing huge movements that indicates a lot more movement in general. 


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-11-28 00:03:00
USCIS Service CentersSeptember 2013 I-130 Immediate Relative Processing Data

I think October is going to show a different story.


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-11-27 09:46:00
USCIS Service CentersA chance to talk to USCIS on 11 Dec! They keep us wait for P2 for a long time. Let's call them!!!!

I saw this at the beginning of the week and sent them an email about it. No answer yet.

 

"Good afternoon,

 

My name is thedude67752000 and I, like many of my fellow Americans, am petitioning the government for the immigration of my wife to be with me in this country. I, like many Americans, am multi-lingual, I speak German, Arabic, Hindi-Urdu and some French and Spanish. But my Spanish is not nearly good enough to participate in a conversation on the USCIS?s policies which are affecting me and my family. I feel that it is not fair to exclude people of non-Spanish heritage or who have not taken the time to learn enough Spanish from this discussion. There should be a similar discussion in English, as this is the majority language of the United States. I believe it would behoove you to offer a more inclusive conversation for all of the Americans who are your customers and whose fees pay your salary. Thank you.

 

Sincerely,

thedude6752000

USCIS Petitioner and Customer "

 


Great idea! Let's all send the above email to public.engagement@uscis.dhs.gov


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-12-06 13:37:00
USCIS Service CentersAny Other I-130 Go to Vermont

Has anyone else's I-130 gone to Vermont since November? They don't have any transfers there, so theoretically they should be blazing through them. But I have seen nothing from Vermont since that one Singaporean couple who got approved in 15 days. Is anyone else there?


thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-12-12 17:48:00
USCIS Service CentersShould we file a class action lawsuit like Kaplan vs. Chertoff?

at one point every single person in this country had ancestors who were immigrants, and our significant others ARE immigrants. Your point just doesn't make any sense. We all feel for people who have waited months BEYOND the projected processing times, but as aaron said, nothing in immigration is a guarantee. No one ever said that anyone was ever going to get through X amount of months, USCIS can only project based on the amount of cases being processed. The OP also started another thread saying that it is the governments fault that he cannot consummate his marriage as much as he would like, that's just grasping at straws. No one in the government EVER told him that he can't travel to see his wife to spend as much time with her as he wants. 

The so called "illegals" who people on this site accuse of being given priority over everyone else are children who were brought here illegally by their parents when they were under the age of 18 , children who didn't have a choice in the matter. The Dream Act is giving these children the opportunity to become legal in a country that for many of them, is the only country they have ever known. It isn't like they are being handed a green card and being sent on their way. They still have a process to go through, and it isn't an easy for them either. They are people with hopes and aspirations and feelings like you and I, they are no less important than us, in my opinion. 

We all understood when marrying someone from another country that the process of bringing them here was going to take time. Some have had to wait longer than others, it is what it is. My husband is from a so called "T" country and was given AP after his interview. This is something we both knew was a possibility, it meant an extra 10 weeks of waiting for us. We were lucky it was only 10 weeks, there are many more who have waited much longer. Never for one moment did I ever think of coming here and complaining about the black hole of AP, we understood it was part of the process, a matter of national security, and what right would I have to complain after seeing the years people from Pakistan are having to wait. Given the state of terrorism in the world who am I to complain about the government wanting to protect it's citizens?

 

 What you say about illegals is not true. I live with a formerly undocumented immigrant from El Salvador, she came here in her 20's by just walking over the border from Mexico (which she also went to illegally) and now she complains all the time about "dee ###### immigracion" even though now she is being allowed to stay here with her family members and has a work permit--while my wife, who has never broken any immigration laws, is not allowed to even visit me for one week. I, too, have sympathy with the so-called "dreamers", but not with their parents who are law breakers and need to be deported ASAP. If you tell people here not to complain about the process, then how on earth can you listen to the complaints of these law breakers? It makes no sense. 

 

And by the way, look up the "Kids' Act" that the Republicans in Congress are trying to pass. It grants status to dreamers but NOT to their parents or any other illegals, and is thus being opposed by the Democrats for purely political reasons. If they really cared about the "dreamers" they would pass the Kids' Act and then worry about the rest later. But they don't, they just want to use the "dreamers" to get amnesty passed, since out of the whole lot of criminals the "dreamers" are the only people with an even half-way respectable position for asking for legal status. If it were about the "dreamers" I would be fine with amnesty, but it's not, it's also about their 10 million adult relatives who flagrantly broke this country's laws and want to be allowed to stay here because if they left they would have to wait a while to come back. If this process is so just, then why are they afraid to leave and come back through it as spouses and parents applying for CR-1's?

 

If immigration is a "privilege" and not a right a right as you seem so found of telling people around here, then there's no other conclusion to come to besides that illegals, who were never granted this "privilege", need to be deported and right away, or else life needs to be made so difficult for them here that they leave on their own, if the above is not financially a feasible. 


Edited by thedude6752000, 14 December 2013 - 09:50 AM.

thedude6752000MaleIndia2013-12-14 09:48:00